City violated firefighter's rights, panel rules

By Zach Lowe
Staff Writer
04/15/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT

STAMFORD - The city discriminated against a firefighter with a learning disability by denying him extra time on a promotional test and it must be trained in disability law, state human rights officials ruled.

The state's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities ruled the city violated anti-discrimination law by denying extra time to David Lenotti, a fire lieutenant with attention deficit disorder.

The city defended the denial by claiming a fire captain, the position Lenotti sought, must be able to read and process information quickly at a fire scene. But state officials said the city never proved that was true, never consulted with disability rights experts and does not use a promotional test that actually measures how fast a candidate can read.

"It's a very nice victory," Lenotti said. "The city has basically been shown they can't just push people around."

Disability rights experts had criticized the city's stance, saying they can deny extra time only if the test closely simulates the real-life job. The city's 100-question multiple choice test does not simulate a captain's job of reading floor plans or hazardous materials reports at a fire scene, the commission ruled.

"You're supposed to give accommodations, period," said Suzanne Kitchen, a clinical instructor and consultant for the Job Accommodation Network, a federally funded nonprofit organization providing employers with advice on disability rights. "No is never the right answer."

City officials declined to comment, saying they may appeal.

"We are extremely happy," said Michael Colombo, Lenotti's attorney. "This is a three-year battle that has resulted in mandatory policy change for all municipal employees."

Lenotti has been a firefighter since 1990. He was diagnosed as learning disabled in 2000 and has said he has trouble reading and visualizing things at the same time.

Lenotti asked for more time after noticing he gets more questions wrong at the end of the test, he has said.

City officials said the request proved Lenotti wasn't ready for a captain's job.

But city fire officials said Lenotti had worked more than 2,000 hours as an interim captain and performed well, according to testimony cited in the ruling.

That also contradicted the city's argument that promoting Lenotti to captain would be a public safety risk, the commission concluded.

The commission ordered the city to let Lenotti take the test with extra time and promote him to captain without an interview if he scores high enough.

If there is no captain's position immediately available, the city must pay Lenotti a captain's salary until one comes open.

The commission also noted the city had allowed several firefighters with learning disabilities to use extra time on the firefighter's exam.

The city argued firefighters don't need the same quick reading skills as captains. The commission disagreed, saying the promotional captain's exam does not test a candidate's reading speed.

"If reading quickly was truly a required qualification of the position of captain, one would think (the city) would provide an exam testing for the speed at which one reads," the commission wrote.

The commission ordered the city to receive training on state and federal disability laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. The commission must approve the training.

The city also must write a uniform procedure for employees to request extra time on promotional tests.

Lenotti said he was happy his case will have a broader effect and encouraged other employees to fight rulings they believe to be unfair.

"It takes someone to stand up and show them they are wrong," he said.